Revitalized Alvin Ailey troupe stages tour de force in Berkeley

Janice Berman, Special to The Chronicle

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, March 2, 2006

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Clifton Brown of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Judith Jamison's New York-based dance company returns for its annual Cal Performances residency, performing a mixture of new works and beloved classics February 28 - March 5, 2006. Photo by: Andrew Eccles less

Clifton Brown of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Judith Jamison's New York-based dance company returns for its annual Cal Performances residency, performing a mixture of new works and beloved classics ... more

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Revitalized Alvin Ailey troupe stages tour de force in Berkeley

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There are three different Alvin Ailey programs this weekend, but here's why you should see Program A, which opened the run at Zellerbach Hall on Tuesday night: It embodies the past, the present and the future, all in one amazing show.

For the past, we have Ailey's ever-glorious "Revelations," 46 years old and set to spirituals, plus his 1974 "Night Creature," set to music by Duke Ellington, whose flamboyance never overshadows its warmth.

For the present, there's Ronald K. Brown's "IFE/My Heart," a West Coast premiere braiding African and African American cultures seamlessly, poetically and so rhythmically you'll be jumping out of your seat. With music from African Beat, poems from Nikki Giovanni and a blisteringly percussive spoken piece called "Release" by Ursula Rucker, the nine dancers, in stunning white satins, lace and cottons by Omatayo Wunmi Olaiya, mingle popular American dance and African movement. With Matthew Rushing and Asha Thomas leading the way, the vigor and sharpness of the dancers' attack never changes, but everything else does, in a stunning panorama as feet hammer, arms flail, and bodies bend and leap.

As for the future, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which five years ago looked in danger of getting stuck in tired tribute and tacky novelty, seems to be moving forward again, with work that enriches the company's interpretations of the African American experience -- and that also represents, simply, dance at its best.

Another reason to see Program A, or, indeed, any program, is to appreciate the company's warmth, its palpable generosity. In Hans van Manen's "Solo" -- also on the bill at San Francisco Ballet's recent opening-night gala -- Clifton Brown, Glenn Allen Sims and Rushing were blithe and virtuosic, and seemed to be speaking to each person in the audience. "Release your heart," goes a line from "IFE/My Heart." Under the circumstances, who could not?